MTD Cub Cadet's ---

with all the mower talk, i thought i d put in my 2cents.

I have a 2006 LT1050 Cub Cadet made my MTD.
It has a 50" deck, three blades, 26 horse kohler and hydro.

355 hours. I mow 3.5 acres with it.

seems like I have to put 300 bucks into to it every 55 hours or so. Mostly deck parts, idler bearings and spindles. Trans drive bearings, and the steering pinion gear bronze bushing.

The cut is terrible, streaks and doesn't chop the grass as it should. and boggs down in thick stuff.

I bought the bagger attachment, doesn't even work right. doesn't get the grass into the 3 baggger system (i have all the right stuff for it, blades) and cloggs when it does manage to fill the first bag and not the other two. took it off and left it off.

bought the 42" snow thrower, took it off after one season of use (5 hrs) cause it looked like the front axle was gunna have kittens if i kept using it. Motor really worked well with it.

Engine runs great, uses 3.5 gallons to mow the 3.5 acres. hydro is slow at times when hot

I don't think id buy another one, but for 2000, you get what you pay for.

been thinking of a diesel jd, but those arm plus leg.

the way its going, the unit will be shot at 700 hours.

oh well. sure it works well for the town dwellers

Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad to read your report. I was looking at those mowers real hard a few years ago, but I ended up buying a John Deere Z425 with a 54" deck. I've got a little over 100hrs on it now and have been fairly well pleased with it. One of the big reasons I went for it was the drive system was a true hydraulic drive system with seperate wheel motors instead of the transaxle style. I looked at a new one the other day and now they are built like the Cub Cadet with the transaxle style. I'm mowing about 2.5 acres and have had very little trouble with it. I had to take it back to the dealer for some carb work that was covered 100% under warranty, and a new set of blades last summer.

if you don't mind my asking, how much was your Z model. is it 4wheel steer?

one thing i forgot to metion and make clear in my post that the LT1050 is the biggest and top model of the 1000 series, which is the lowest grade that cadet made then.

Here's a link:
Z425

When I read your post I was thinking about the rear engine ZTR mowers like this.



The Deere was around $4000. I bought it from a local JD dealer because the price was the same from them as the box stores. I also found out that as soon as someone buys one from the box store they get refered to the local dealer.
Cub Cadet ZTR

Sorry to hear that LUV. I have the same mower with 220 hrs and haven"t had a lick of trouble other than a front tire. I mow 3 acres non stop and the power and cut are most satisfactory. I am a bit disapointed in the fuel consumption but it is a 26 horse. I service the mower before each use and clean it after and has been an excellent mower.

your musta been made on a wednesday. haha.

my issues started at about 197 hrs.

maybe your due? There is a pinion gear that acts on a gear tooth comb for steering. that pinion gear is supported in the "frame/floor" by a bronze bushing. has yours got a lot of play. my steering started to jump teeth. maybe just my luck. needs it again. first one at 197 and second at 355 hours. made it three seasons, so i can complain toooo much.

i do take care of the tractor. i m a wrench monkey by trade and know what abuse and neglect do.

i do enjoy the factory beer holder.



for the money it is what is is.

i looked at that link. my uncle has one and loves it. seems like a good unit.

I bought the 23 hp version 2 years past and I find it is an excellent machine,no problems yet,starts good and a pleasure to operate,it even has grease fittings on the spindles

I got the RZT50. When I was shopping around for one, the local commercial dealer told me the residential units are engineered to go 500 hours before the nickel and diming starts, so I figure anything I get above that will be a bonus.

Our workshop had bought one back about 2006..from a regular cub cadet dealer,.. can't recall the model # but it was giving us fits as not cutting well in the middle blade area.
The shop mowed a couple grave yards and a couple of local plant lawns. usually traded them back after 500-600 hours.

Since it was going to be used for commercial use they only gave a 6 month warranty.. had it in several times getting it leveled,or readjusted (So they said till the shop decided to get another deck for it...BUT without warranty shop had to pay for it at full cost...Then to make matters worse I find out from my BIL that that particular deck had a recall for a spacer it needed when the plant assembled it we mentioned it to the provider of our maintenance equipment and although they were sorry no refund.( Knowing full well the old deck just needed a washer ) they said they scrapped it ????